Chapter 102

“Run away!”

As the pained screams echoed through the mountains, the group of subordinates gathered outside the Underground Relic suddenly looked up.

A shared, incredulous expression appeared in their eyes.

That voice… was it Her Highness Ivyst?!

Everyone in the group couldn’t help but entertain a ridiculous thought.

In their minds, Ivyst had always been a powerful and fearsome presence.

She was majestic and commanding, her gaze was sharp enough to cut through steel, and even the most troublesome cultist uprisings fell easily at her feet.

Even a Fifth Stage Legend couldn’t last a few rounds against her.

To them, she was practically invincible.

But only those close to her, like Afia, understood the price of such immense power.

Each time she absorbed a Sealed Item, Her Highness the Princess emerged even more terrifying than before.

Sometimes, her personality would even turn radical and volatile.

This left the outside world filled with disgust and fear towards her.

Only a handful of those close to her would occasionally think, “Poor Princess.”

So at this moment, when Ivyst’s voice resounded in the valley, the subordinates from Augusta Manor immediately decided to obey her command.

What good were they here for if even a Sixth Stage Half-Divine couldn’t handle the crisis?

Only Afia, upon hearing the voice brimming with suppressed chaos and pain, instantly transformed into her cat form and leaped towards the Underground Relic.

But in the next second, dark shadows bound her hind legs, trapping her in place.

“Don’t be rash!”

Morris frowned, sensing something ominous, and shouted.

“But Your Highness…”

Afia wanted to say more, but the next moment, a chilling aura of despair swept in, and a black torrent of dampness and muck erupted like a geyser!

The endless black sludge seemed to revel in sensing the intense life force around it.

As it detected Duke Tilius and the thousands of soldiers behind him, the sludge rushed towards them with fervor!

“Everyone, form a defensive line!!!”

Duke Tilius, while shocked, instantly gave the order.

In the center of the soldiers, a Transcendent responsible for the defensive formation channeled their power, activating the Sealed Item’s barrier.

At the same time, a faint purple transcendent energy radiated from Duke Tilius, transforming into a raging, invisible force, attempting to flatten the disgusting black sludge into the ground.

But alas.

It was formless and intangible, almost like liquid or freely flowing air.

Powerful physical attacks couldn’t inflict any damage on the black muck.

The black sludge surged fiercely, rising like a tidal wave, and in an instant, it shattered the fragile defenses of the Sealed Items, flooding into the crowd like a deluge, scattering the formerly organized formation!

Afia stared in horror at the scene before her, instinctively leaping upwards to avoid the surrounding black sludge.

The next second, ordinary soldiers covered in black muck let out blood-curdling screams!

“No, no!!!!!!!”

One soldier’s stomach suddenly bulged out rapidly, and amidst the horrified gazes of everyone, it exploded!

But instead of guts and blood, golden coins embossed with the image of Sixth Saint Roland flew everywhere!

The black sludge had read the soldier’s greedy desire for wealth and twistedly satisfied it in the most grotesque way.

“Help, help me!!!”

Another soldier cried for rescue.

His arms and chest swelled visibly, as if his muscles had been enhanced countless times in an instant, the thick veins pulsating violently!

Yet, his lower body remained unchanged, and he lost balance, collapsing to the ground.

But the muscle growth in his upper body didn’t slow down.

Swelling!

Swelling!

Swelling!

“Bang!!!”

Finally, the strength of his muscles couldn’t withstand the pressure anymore, and blood and flesh splattered everywhere!

The black sludge read his yearning to become stronger and similarly twisted it into a horrific reality.

And they weren’t the only two.

At that moment, terrifying scenes unfolded throughout the valley.

Someone ripped open their own stomach, pulling out a grotesque black baby; someone suddenly sprouted wings but flew uncontrollably into a hard rock wall; and yet another person melted into a puddle of gore, with wriggling maggots crawling out.

Hiding in the shadows, Morris watched the horrifying scene, beads of cold sweat instantly forming on his forehead.

He exchanged a glance with Afia, both of them reading a hint of despair in each other’s eyes.

This wasn’t a Level 2 Sealed Item, but rather—

“Level 0!!!” Duke Tilius suddenly grimaced, “Damn it, damn it, Calderon, you tricked me!!”

Watching his elite forces rapidly dwindling, his heart felt like it was bleeding.

Was it the long-term rot of the Elector system, with local powers becoming stronger, that made the Emperor eager to reclaim power? Had he orchestrated this plot to use them as pawns?!

Anger surged within him, feeling betrayed.

As a Fifth Stage Legend, he could barely survive the chaos caused by the Level 0 Sealed Item.

But the soldiers around him weren’t so lucky.

These were his bodyguards, the elite of the elite, yet they couldn’t withstand the overwhelming effects of the Level 0 Sealed Item.

What to do?!

At that moment, similar thoughts flooded everyone’s mind.

“Let’s run as the Princess said.”

Morris, after an agonizing internal struggle, grit his teeth and said.

As a Third Stage Transcendent, he might seem strong in the mundane world, but facing such a situation where even the Princess struggled to resist, their best option was to avoid unnecessary sacrifice.

“You!!!”

Afia glared at him angrily, at a loss for words.

However, it was clear that his suggestion was met with support from everyone.

Most of Ivyst’s subordinates present for the mission were Transcendents.

Once they agreed, they sprang into action.

But moments later, other horrifying screams resounded from the foot of the mountain. “Church of Heavenly Justice! How dare you—”

“Why are you killing us?! We are not defilers!!!”

“Damn it, are you trying to wipe us all out in the mountains?!”

Along with a few screams, a cold voice echoed throughout the mountains, slowly resonating in everyone’s ears.

“I apologize, but this is an order.”

“Please, defend the glory of the Empire here in Soren Mountain Range, and resist to the death!”

This voice, along with the powerful barrier appearing above the mountains, extinguished the last flicker of hope in everyone’s hearts.

While dodging the pursuit of the black muck, they began to scream in despair.

What they thought was just an ordinary task turned into this predicament.

Simply a wrong choice led everyone into an irreversible disaster.

Why?

Why must we die?

Such thoughts surfaced in the minds of most of those still alive.

Morris despondently sat on the ground, deep despair clouding his eyes.

The path ahead was blocked by the chaos of a Level 0 Sealed Item, while the rear was sealed by those who should have been allies.

Everyone was doomed.

Similar thoughts plagued Afia’s mind.

Staring at the towering black tide and the seemingly endless sludge behind her, she stood frozen, her body losing the will to move.

For some reason, at this moment, a strange emotion surged within her.

She had thought that ever since that winter when the Princess cradled her back to life, she was ready to die for her.

But now, facing this dire situation, a twinge of reluctance arose.

Am I really going to die?

Her ears twitched slightly, slowly shifting into her human form.

Staring at her own bare, delicate white feet, Afia suddenly felt lost.

But the spread and surge of the black muck wouldn’t slow down because of the varied thoughts swirling in their minds.

The shadows of death and despair loomed over the valley.

The towering black wave was about to fully engulf the mountain in just half a second, and everyone present would meet a twisted and horrific end.

This should have been a scene locked in the river of time, unchangeable.

But for some unknown reason, the hand of fate seemed to lightly pluck the thread that held their fatal destiny, influenced by some anomaly.

“Boom!!!”

The sudden appearance of a youthful figure crashed down like a beast, shooting like an arrow into the entrance of the Underground Relic, disappearing from everyone’s sight.

The powerful airflow and whirlwind instantly blew away the black muck that had permeated the valley.

The entire process was as smooth as a heated knife slicing through butter.

Moreover, as that presence full of immense intensity passed, the once rampant black sludge seemed to have encountered a suppression that came from a higher-level essence and soul, freezing in place, losing all aggressive intent.

A moment later, it fled like the tide!

What… what just happened?!

Afia stood there dumbfounded.

A sensation like never before flooded her body, making her feel faint.

That figure, for some reason, felt extraordinarily familiar to her.

Could it be…?

Impossible!

Absurd emotions surfaced, prompting Afia to instinctively shake her head.

She wasn’t the only one.

The joy of surviving against the odds blossomed in the hearts of everyone present.

“Who was that figure just now?!”

Someone shouted, hugging their shoulders, tears streaming down their face, filled with excitement.

Regrettably, the individual’s might seemed too powerful, moving at an astonishing speed, leaving no one able to make out their appearance.

“Lynn!!! That guy is Lynn!!!”

Suddenly, someone raised their arm high, shouting out the name.

Everyone turned to look.

In the crowd, Greya shouted passionately.

“I don’t know what he’ll do by coming here… but at least we’re saved!!!”

Inside the Temple of the Gods.

A cold Sorceress of the End with white hair sat alone on the steps as usual, reading a book in her hands.

“Chronicles of Xeno.”

If it’s him, he should catch the hints hidden within, right?

Though her gaze was fixed on the words of the book, her mind was elsewhere.

According to the original timeline of fate, and the hints she had given earlier, at this moment, Lynn Bartleon should be seated on a train back to the Imperial Capital.

She couldn’t help but wonder how their next encounter would play out.

The Sorceress of the End expressionlessly closed the book, reflecting silently.

However.

In a corner where she wasn’t paying attention, faint cracks began to appear on the surface of the chains of order hanging down from the massive statue’s palm.

As if foreshadowing something.

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